Transparent grave monument



July 19, 1938. F. H. LONG 2,124,143

TRANSPARENT GRAVE MONUMENT Filed 001;. 22, 1937 NW? N TOR FOR/P55 T H LONG FIG. 4. BVJMX A 7' TOR/V Patented July 19, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIQE 2,124,143 TRANSPARENT GRAVE MONUMENT Forrest H. Long, Maricopa County, Ariz.

Application October 22, 1937, Serial No. 170,309

2 Claims.

My invention relates to grave monuments made of. transparent material such as glass, or the like, and has for its objects, first, the provision of a monument having a smooth, attractive exterior; second, to provide a monument having a degree of transparency whereby inscriptions and ornaments placed upon a portion inserted within the exterior body may be visible through the outer body portion; third, to provide a monument wherein the inscriptions, ornaments and engravings may be preserved within an outer body portion and at the same time clearly visible from the exterior; fourth, to provide a monument, as above described, which can be easily and cheaply manufactured and is easily adapted to be seated upon a grave site.

I attain the above objects by means of the construction and composition hereinafter described and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the entire monument; Fig. 2, a. perspective view of the interior portion or insert; Fig. 3, a side elevation taken partially in section, and Fig. 4 a sectional View taken on line 4-4 Fig. 3.

Similar numbers refer to similar parts in the several views.

The body of the monument 2 is composed preferably of molded glass, pyrex, or other similar transparent material. This is cast or blown so as to provide an interior opening of a shape generally conforming to the outer side walls of the body. This opening or hollow 3 extends from the bottom face 4 of the body 2 upward into the interior and the opposite inner faces are parallel. 35 An insert or interior portion 5, also cast of. transparent material, is shaped to fit into opening 3.

Upon any desired face, or faces, of the inserted plug 5 inscriptions are impressed. These may include lettering 6 such as the name of the deceased 40 and the dates of birth and death and the like,

or any other motto or epitaph that may be desired. In addition to this, spaces may be provided within. the face of the insert for plates or engravings 8, which may have ornaments, de- 45 signs or pictures of the deceased etched or otherwise impressed upon their surface. These plates may either be set within proper recesses in the face of the insert or attached thereto by cement or other suitable means. These plates when at- 50 tached serve as a means for spacing the front face of the glass plate from the wall of the open- I prefer that the inscriptions upon the face or faces of the insert shall be made by colored letters and figures preferably made of plastics and Sealed in place.

cementitiously attached by a process commonly known as the applied color process. Otherwise these figures may be composed of stencils of colored glass, metal, or other opaque or semiopaque material cemented or otherwise properly attached to the face of the insert. The dimensions of the section of the insert are such that after the attachment of the inscriptions and ornaments, it may be easily inserted into the body part where it remains removably fitted until The insert is somewhat shorter than the opening in order to leave a recess at the bottom thereof.

After the inscriptions and ornaments are attached to the insert, as above described, it is placed within the hollow within the body of. the monument and hermetically sealed by cement 9. This is run into the space at the bottom of the monument between the bottom face of the body 2 and the bottom face of the insert, which is made short enough to provide a recess to receive and retain this sealing cement. Thereafter the monument is ready for use and may be set up within the grave site upon any sub-surface foundation H] as desired.

From the figures it will be understood that I have provided a monument which has a body of. transparent material which, when properly mounted and in use, presents no open crevices to the atmosphere through which moisture or dirt may enter the interior portion. Both the exterior body of the monument and the main body portion of the insert are transparent, thereby giving a pleasing, novel and artistic appearance to the entire construction, while the inscriptions, ornaments and pictures appearing in the face of the insert may be easily observed. This does away with the customary practice of carving natural rock with letters and figures, which is both costly and somewhat unsatisfactory since the figures become filled with dirt and are subject to erosion.

In constructing both the exterior body portion and insert, it is intended that the glass or other material be cast with heavy substantial proportions, having the walls between the hollow and exterior preferably two inches thick while the insert may be made of solid glass, also approximately two inches thick. The faces of the exterior of. the monument may or may not be ground and polished, but it is preferred that the interior face of the insert, to which are attached the inscriptions or ornaments, be ground and polished smooth.

While I have described the preferred form of 55 my invention, it will be obvious to those familiar with the art that there may be numerous changes and modifications, all of which would, nevertheless, remain within the spirit of my invention. Therefore, I wish to be limited only by the following claims.

I claim:

1. A grave monument having an inscription visible from opposite sides thereof, said monument consisting of a heavy mass of transparent glass provided with parallel front and rear faces, said mass having a fiat bottom face and provided with an opening extending upwardly from said bottom face and terminating in spaced relation below the top of. the mass whereby the top of the opening is permanently closed and weather proof, said opening being rectangular in horizontal cross-section and of uniform dimensions from top to bottom, a filler member in said opening consisting of a heavy transparent glass plate of slightly less height than the opening, said plate having an inscription on one face thereof and being of less thickness than the width of the opening Without rubbing the inscription, a cementitious closure filling the bottom of. the opening below the plate, and plates cemented to the upper corners of the front face of the plate for purposes of ornamentation and to hold the front face away from the wall of the opening.

2. A grave monument having an inscription visible from opposite sides thereof, said monument consisting of a heavy mass of transparent glass provided with parallel front and rear faces, said mass having a flat bottom face and provided with an opening extending upwardly from said bottom face and terminating in spaced relation below the top of the mass whereby the top of the opening is permanently closed and weather proof, said opening being rectangular in horizontal cross-section and of. uniform dimensions from top to bottom, a filler member in said opening consisting of a heavy transparent glass plate of slightly less height than the opening, said plate having an inscription on one face thereof and being of less thickness than the width of the opening without rubbing the inscription, a cementitious closure filling the bottom of the opening below the plate, and a plate secured to the front face of the plate for purposes of ornamentation and to hold the front face away from the front Wall of the opening.

FORREST H. LONG 

